It was the third day since Corvus had arrived at the Kamino System, and currently he was aboard the flagship Venator, the Herald.
Within the war room of this ship, Corvus had brought along his Padawans, the members of the Bad Batch, Commander Pots, and even Triss, the Dark Acolyte. The plan had been made, but he had kept them around for both advice, as well as a learning experience for all involved.
Surrounding a table that had a holographic map of the galaxy, it showed Imperial held planets in blue, CIS is red, neutral as grey, and active warzones as purple. From what he could tell, there were many planets that were purple, and blue slightly outnumbered red, showcasing the Empire's dominance.
Initially, after overhearing the desperate battles at Mygeeto, Onderon, and Dantooine, Corvus had wanted to reinforce those areas, however, Kamino was in the very bottom right of the galactic map, whilst those planets were in the very top left. In layman's terms, that was about a 1-2 week journey for their Class-1 hyperdrive, and about 1-2 months for the Class-4 G-75 Transport. Reinforcing them in a timely manner was anything but easy, and arriving such a long distance would seriously deplete the fleets' fuel, meaning they had to win or risked being sitting ducks.
Ultimately, he decided against such a bold maneuver. In war, time was precious. Given his current position, it would be much more viable to go towards targets that he could arrive at within a day.
Having gone over the numerous reports, there were a few targets he had in mind. Given his current position, he really only had one viable option. Going 'southwest ' he could hit Rodia, Christophis, Ryloth, Naboo, Malastare, Eriadu, Triton, Utapau. Each planet was about a day-or less-away from the next. This region was also home to key Separatist manufacturing planets such as Geonosis, and Mustafar.
From what he could tell, every other direction was suboptimal. To the 'north-east' was Hutt Space, and 'north' was Bothan Space. Both factions were generally neutral, and stayed out of the war. Attacking them would serve no purpose beyond asking for a swift demise. If he kept going 'north' eventually he would hit Kashyyyk, a planet he valued greatly due to the wookies, but that was a 5-6 day journey with few other strategic planets along the way.
Therefore, these were the planets that interested him:
Rodia: Home to the planet of people who looked like Greedo from Episode IV in the Mos Eisley bar scene, it was lush with jungles, and served as a thorn in the Outer Rim for the CIS forces. Strategically, it held little value, however, its population were pro-Imperial, and in this ever escalating, galaxy spanning war, clones weren't the only members of the army. Besides that, there was a small flotilla standing guard in orbit. By destroying Imperial forces now, he could prevent them from mobilizing a much larger fleet later.
From what he could tell, having a sector fleet bunched up in one place-like with Kamino-was rare. Ordinarily, a Legion would be scattered across many planets or worlds, only gathering for a major offensive or defense. In most cases, naval engagements were between a handful of ships involving skirmishes. This way, defenses could be tested, and the shadow of a threat would keep the commanders of both sides guessing where the main attack would take place.
TLDR: only a handful of ships guarded Rodia, and Corvus wanted to deny them to the enemy.
As a bonus mission, it was Corvus's hope that he could use Padme's name to win them over without resorting to violence. She had helped deliver critical supplies to Rodia during the war, cementing their loyalty. If he could invoke her name, then perhaps they would join.
Christophis: A planet covered in crystal forests, this location was extremely important when it came to resources. The crystals-a renewable resource-could be used in computers/electronics as well as an energy source. Thanks to its close location to Geonosis, Christophis was an ideal planet for the Confederacy. As it was his goal to replace Dooku in the hearts & minds of the Separatists, and eventually fold the CIS into the Republic, securing a victory that would endear him to Poggle the Lesser would be useful. Of all the planets on his list, this one was perhaps the most important due to how vital the crystals would be for ships, and droids.
Ryloth: Home of the Twi'leks, many a nerd fantasized about going there on vacation. For Corvus, he was interested in recruiting them, as they could be rather excellent fighters when push came to shove. Perhaps more importantly, however, was the vast quantities of spice that were produced here. In other words, drugs. The drug trade was alive and well in Star Wars, and there was a stupid amount of money to be made. Whosoever controlled the spice controlled the black market. Leveraging his connection with Prince Xizor, Corvus hoped to use this spice as influence & as a means to generate wealth for the war. There was only so much "do it because I told you too" or threats of violence could do for you. If he wanted to pay all ten million+ clones in his command, Ryloth would be essential.
Naboo: As the home planet of Palpatine, wouldn't it be absolutely delicious if it publicly declared for the Republic? Corvus knew that the politicians on this world, and the current queen were against Palpatine. Whilst the world didn't hold any strategic or material value, it possessed deep symbolic worth.
Other than that, the volunteer soldiers-both human & gungan-would be a much welcomed addition to the Republic army.
Malastare: A forested world, one home to the Zillo beast, this planet was within the Mid Rim, directly adjacent to the Outer Rim. Possessing a large quantity of fuel, Malastare served as the place to collect/refuel large fleets that were on campaign within the region. As such, it was of extreme strategic importance to both sides in this conflict. Therefore, a sector fleet just like the one positioned above Kamino was present at all times, as well as a permanent Legion base of operations. Malastare would be a tough nut to crack, but it was vital to take the world to cripple the Empire, as well as to fuel his own forces. Lastly, the local species had signed a treaty with the Republic, giving them the rights to the fuel. Corvus hoped to leverage that document once the dust had settled between him and the Imperial forces.
Eriadu: The Earth-like planet of Eriadu was the home of Tarkin, and was yet another incredibly important location. For one, the culture was extremely militaristic, and based on reports from the files on the Venator, sent millions of men to the front lines every year. Other than men, Eriadu was a manufacturing hub for computers, electronics, and droid parts. Primarily, however, and most importantly, it was the Empire's drydock in the 'southern' region of the Outer Rim.
Servicing, repairing, and outfitting the various Legions that prowled this region, Eriadu was no less important to the Imperial war machine than Malastare. Considering this, yet another Legion and full sized Sector fleet called this world home. In addition to this, the private army/fleet of the Tarkins helped bolster the clone forces, creating a supremely formidable foe. As it stood, if Corvus went head on at this fortified porcupine, he didn't believe his fleet would win. To subdue Eriadu would take subterfuge, overwhelming firepower, or some serious Jedi shenanigans.
To make matters worse, it was only a day away from Malastare, meaning that the fleet stationed there could reinforce at any moment. However! There was some silver lining to this. The Legion tasked with guarding Eriadu had participated in the siege of Geonosis. If the report was to be trusted, about 80% of the fleet had been eradicated! Meaning Eriadu was at its weakest point now more than at any other point in the war!!!
Lastly, Eriadu served as a spot where five hyperlanes converged. This made the planet rich in commerce, but also made it the ultimate chokepoint! By deploying interdiction fields during war time-a technology developed during the Mandalorian Wars that forced ships out of hyperspace-this fortress world could control the flow of traffic, and eliminate CIS ships from going towards the Mid Rim or Core. Take Geonosis for example, if it wanted to reinforce other planets or invade places, its units would practically become smothered by the thorny wall known as Eriadu.
Factoring all these things together, it could not be stressed enough how important Eriadu was towards Imperial hegemony!
Triton: A rocky, desert-like world with many baren moons, this planet was devoid of natural resources, but abutted Eriadu. Containing two hyperlanes, it served as the shield wall protecting other CIS planets that are deeper in the Outer Rim. Currently it was marked as purple, and under siege.
Relieving the siege would surely earn even more points for him in the eyes of the CIS citizenry. It was one thing to conquer distant lands, it was an entirely different matter to drive off the guy who had kicked the door to your house down.
Utapau: Lastly was the planet of Grievous's demise. Listed as purple, fierce fighting was still taking place on this world. Possessing rare earth minerals, and a giant crystal necessary for the Death Star to operate, keeping this place out of Palpatine's hands would surely anger the prune headed Sith. Lastly, retaking Utapau would be important for the same reasons as Triton. Perhaps even more so considering this was a place of great trauma for the CIS Leadership Council. By succeeding, where the famed General had failed, Corvus was sure to become legendary once he had finished the campaigning across all those other planets, and finish on Utapau.
As he was staring at the map, and going over the plan again and again, to see if he had made any mistakes, Hunter-leader of the Bad Batch-spoke up.
"For such a sneaky bloke, you Jedi seem to never change." Hunter said whilst he played with his vibroknife between his fingers, not bothering to look up from the holotable.
Yon looked like he was going to pounce, and Jax narrowed his eyes seemingly contemplating both the merit of Hunter's words, as well as how to defend Corvus's honor.
Holding up a hand, Corvus motioned for Yon to keep silent. It was nice to have someone willing to bring harm to anyone who spoke ill of him, but having such a shortfuse could be deadly. Looking at Jax, Corvus got that the white haired teen was much more responsible, but also perhaps a little sinister in his silence? Chuckling to himself, Corvus regarded the Sgt.
"What do you see, that I do not, Hunter? Please, enlighten me." Corvus said in a straightforward tone.
Hunter flipped his knife a few more times, and then stared Corvus in the eyes.
"You hold the element of surprise. Is Rodia truly the planet you want to lose your disguise over?" Hunter questioned.
Corvus scrunched his brow as he considered Hunters words.
"Chain hopping from System to System is standard practice, Sgt. The General is only acting according to protocol." Commander Pots replied in Corvus's defense.
"Oi, leave rank outta this, da masked man said all thoughts are welcome'ere!" Wrecker loudly exclaimed.
"Easy, Wrecker." Tech placated the giant man, and then turned to address the room. "I don't know what Hunter wishes to target specifically, but I think going after a more valuable planet first is an excellent idea! The crystals of Christophis could power several weapons designs I have in mind."
"When aiming for the beast, you'd best not miss." Crosshair chimed in, in a surly tone from the side. The bald thin clone was reclining on the side, appearing disinterested.
"Nonsense. General, your course of action is entirely viable. Special forces have their place, but they don't understand how important it is to secure flanks and supply lines. Implementing this planet-hopping strategy ensures we have a fallback point." Pots gave a respectful nod at the Bad Batch, but also doubled down on the current strategy.
"Yon, Jax, Omega, Triss, your thoughts?"
"Master has the right of it. Why don't we keep the charade up on Rodia? You board their lead cruiser, arrest the commanding officer, remove the inhibitor chips, and execute the traitors!" Yon eagerly, and maliciously explained his plan. He sounded especially happy when he mentioned the deaths of traitors.
Corvus slightly nodded his head. This was his initial plan. To swoop in, and sneak onto these planets with the identity of 007. Then, one by one, he would convert the clone armies stationed at these locations.
He then gestured to Jax for him to speak his mind.
"I have meditated on this, and I think Yon's idea would work for one or two worlds, but past that, the Imperials would notice. Kamino is already such a sensitive location. As soon as the fleet leaves this location, and fails to report in, Imperial Command would become alarmed. By the third day of travel, and by the time we arrived at Ryloth or Naboo, the local Sector fleets would be alerted to foul play." Jax said with a pensive expression on his face as he deeply considered the matter.
"But you never offered an idea or solution! What's the point of knowing this, if we're not going to act on it?" Yon was quick to bite back.
Jax merely shook his head, and refused to give Yon any fodder.
"Omega?" Corvus asked the tan little blonde girl.
"Me?" Omega blinked, and said in a surprised voice. "WelI, think Naboo is pretty, but Hunter says to do the unexpected. Why not Eriadu? The defenses are practically gone, right? No one would expect it!"
Corvus slightly nodded along, Eriadu was such an important world. Taking out its industrial facilities, removing its army training centers, and destroying the naval drydocks would be huuge.
Lastly, he motioned for the sullen-dare he say depressed-white haired teen girl, Triss.
Triss eyed everyone in the room, and unlike the bright and sunny, precocious Omega, this girl didn't want to say a word.
"If you want to send a message, hit their strongest force. From there, taking the rest will be easy." Triss said in a slow, soft tone, showing that she was very uncomfortable speaking in such a public setting.
Stroking his chin, Corvus figured that such a thought came from working with the Sith, where the power of the strongest was all that mattered.
"The girl's got the right of it. Ordinarily, the weakest prey is easiest to take down, but it rewards the least meat." Hunter muttered, and then stabbed his knife through the holographic image of a planet on the holotable.
Narrowing his eyes, Corvus saw its name.
Malastare.
It was the only planet in the region to have a full Legion and Sector fleet for defense. At about a 4 to 6 day journey-hyperlane willing-it was about as far away as Kashyyyk. Unlike Kashyyyk, however, there was a cluster of valuable targets within a days journey surrounding Malastare.
Closing his eyes, and entering Pause, he deeply thought over everyone's arguments until he decided to go with Hunter and Triss's idea. Whilst Jax was correct, and there would be some suspicion, it wouldn't be as outrageous as the naval elements above Christophis & Rodia going dark too.
By ambushing the fleet above Malastare with 'friendly' units, they could almost guarantee victory in a conflict that fielded equal numbers. From his perspective, it would be like an attack on Pearl Harbor. Yeah, the Americans knew something was probably up, but they hadn't prepared for it, and by the time the Japanese had arrived, it was too late to do much of anything.
Un-Pausing, Corvus softly clapped his hands at the assembled group of advisors.
"Your words have been most insightful. Special thanks to you, Hunter, for drawing my attention to this alternative mode of thinking, and to you, Triss, for pathing the way to a suitable target."
"At least you listen. Can't recall how many times I've had an officer ignore good advice." Hunter smirked, and winked at Pots.
Triss remained silent, and stared down at her shoes.
Corvus sighed at the sight, and hoped the last minute training he got in with the group could help everyone gel better.
Turning to Pots, Corvus gave him an order.
"Commander, prepare the jump to lightspeed. The Starcrusher Corp is going to Malastare."
~~~~~~~AN: Read up to chapter 166 (that's 110 ch ahead) at:
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